Sports Shorts

Softball The women’s softball team finally began conference play over the weekend in the Midwest Conference Classic, held in Janesville, Wis. The women defeated Monmouth 8-0, as junior Catherine Marinac gave up only one hit in six innings of work.
The women then lost a tough game to Grinnell College by a score of 2-1. Sophomore Amanda Hauser picked up Lawrence’s lone RBI in the defeat. Lawrence lost their third game of the day to Lake Forest, 17-9. Freshman Alex Goodson picked up two RBIs in the loss, while senior Molly Bouressa had three RBIs.
The Viking women started off the second day of the Midwest Conference Classic with convincing win against Knox College. The women won 10-1, getting RBIs from six different players. The Vikings were not as fortunate in the second game as they lost 3-1 to Illinois College. Marinac pitched well in defeat as she gave up no earned runs in seven innings.
Men’s Tennis The men’s tennis team lost two matches over the weekend, falling to Monmouth and North Divisional powerhouse St. Norbert. The Vikings had their chances in the Monmouth match but were unable to pull off the victory. The No. 1 doubles duo of Kyle Nodarse and Dan Hertel lost 9-8 (8-6) in a tightly fought match. Lawrence succumbed to the Green Knights in their second match of the day, recording a 9-0 loss in their first North Division encounter.
The Vikings have just three matches left this season, against the remaining North Division opponents. Three wins will see the Vikings make it to the team conference tournament for the first time in four years. Lawrence takes on Carroll and Ripon at home on Thursday and Friday before traveling down to Beloit for their last dual meet.
Golf Transfer Jim Breen and freshman Tom Vyskocil both shot 81s to tie for ninth place at the Ripon College Invitational on Sunday. Ninth place is the highest a Lawrence golfer has finished this season. Lawrence took fourth place in the eight-team tournament.
Outdoor Track The men and women participated in the Elmhurst Invitational this past weekend. The women placed seventh out of 21 teams, while the men were ninth out of 16 teams.
Sophomore Tatiana Bulat took second place in the triple jump with 10.60 meters, while senior Stephanie Kliethermes placed seventh in the long jump with 4.54 meters. Junior Laurel Benson and sophomore Lisa Ritland also performed well for the women. Benson took fourth place in the triple jump with 10.11 meters and Ritland took fourth place in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:14.71.
Seniors David Quinlan and Phil Keith helped the men as Quinlan took fifth place in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:59.18, only two seconds out of first place. Keith took second place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:24.40.